“The New Jersey Business & Industry Association is appreciative that the Legislature and Governor are discussing a plan that balances the state’s need for infrastructure improvements with much needed tax relief. However, the bill approved by the Assembly early Tuesday morning did not contain a phase-out of the estate tax and, therefore, does not provide the comprehensive reform that NJBIA continues to call for.
“NJBIA continues to strongly support estate tax relief. It is a common misconception that the estate tax only benefits the wealthy. In fact, the estate tax has a broad impact on the state’s economy and business succession planning, particularly for family-owned businesses. In the most recent Business Outlook Survey of our 20,000 member companies employing more than 1 million people, 67 percent said that they take the estate and inheritance taxes into account when making business decisions.
“The estate tax also has a significant impact on outmigration. The issue is not who stays in New Jersey and pays the estate tax, but rather those who leave the state to avoid paying. Earlier this year NJBIA issued a report indicating that New Jersey has lost a net $18 billion of adjusted gross income in the last decade, which resulted in $11.4 billion in lost economic activity, not to mention the loss in state income taxes that would have been collected on this income.
“Including the estate tax in any final TTF and tax relief bill would keep more New Jerseyans and their income in the state. This would result in increased economic activity and make New Jersey more competitive.”
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